


Breathe, Ellie... Breathe

by kingwrites



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, dont @ me loollll, i legit just wanted to write them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 21:57:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15156446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingwrites/pseuds/kingwrites
Summary: After a tough night out and Dina almost dying, Ellie has a breakdown but just like always he best friend is there to hold her. One love confession later and their dancing in each others arms, completely transfixed on the other.





	Breathe, Ellie... Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to write this,,,,,, fight me

Ellie could feel her whole world collapsed around her as soon as the water hit her bruised and bloody body. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, and in reality she couldn’t. She was hyperventilating as she thought about all the ways everything could’ve gone wrong that night. The teenager had been through a lot worse but every second of this felt like absolute torture.

 

Without even thinking about it she was sitting on the floor as the semi-hot water, which she was lucky considering they worked with a damn and some electricity, hit her back. Her arms instantly wrapped around her knees as the tears merged with the water. All that she could focus on the fact is that she could’ve lost Dina that night. Thank whatever God their might be that she didn’t. That she kept her best friend safe. 

 

Breathing only got harder as the tears continued to fall from her eyes. She barely realized her short breaths until someone was making their way into the bathroom. The tall girl, who looked small now, couldn't bring herself to face whoever entered the bathroom. It wasn’t until she heard clothes drop to the ground that she actually looked up. 

 

Her breath caught as she stared at Dina, almost completely undressed. She gave Ellie that familir half cocky, half flirty smirk that always made her heart flip. “Like the view?” She teased as she stepped out of the last of her clothes, making her way over to the tub. Once she had stepped in she wrapped her tanned arms around Ellie. 

 

In that moment, with Dina holding onto her as water encompassed the two, the girl truly broke down. She buried her face into her knees as she felt her best friend hold onto her tightly. Her breathes were coming harder and harder for her as she was held tightly, but there was something about the shorter’s girl soft “heys” and “breath, baby that made things slightly easier. 

 

Eventually she stopped and her breathing began to go back to a normal pace. When the other girl felt that she adjusted, spreading her legs so that Ellie could sit in between them. Which she didn’t hesitate in doing, even if this was only best friends and would never mean more than that. Once she was settled in there, Dina placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. 

 

“I thought…” She trailed off as she began to whisper an explanation of why she was found in the bathroom sobbing. “I thought I was going to lose you.” Her voice is barely a whisper and that was being generous, but Dina managed to hear her through the water pounding around them and the soft words of comfort.

 

With those words, the other girl practically melted in a mix of love and comfort. “You will never lose me, babygirl.” She reassured her, running a hand through Ellie’s soft, soaked hair. Another kiss is pressed to the top of her head, meant to comfort her the best she can. “You will always have me.” 

 

“I almost lost you today.” She whispered more, pulling her knees back up to her chest. Which was true, if she was only a couple seconds later than Dina wouldn’t be here right now. Which absolutely terrified Ellie, cause she loved her so much and never actually told her how she truly felt. Yet, even after everything she still couldn’t find herself to actually tell her best friend how she felt. 

 

With the tone of the taller girls voice, Dina was quick to jump in and reassure her again. “But you didn’t. You saved me just in time. You’re the reason I’m here right now, holding you.” The last part is barely above a whisper but it hold more meaning than Ellie would ever realize in that moment. 

 

“I’m the reason we were in that situations. I didn’t do enough recon. I didn’t check every corner. O told you it was safe when it was-“ She’s cut off before she can finish the rambling of blaming herself for what had happened on patrol. There was more than two of them, so it really wasn’t her fault but Ellie would always think it was. “Don’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could’ve know.”

 

At the reassurance of her friend words she found herself relaxing, something incredibly strange for her, into her best friend arms. Maybe Dina was right. Maybe she really wasn’t the one with the whole blame in that situation. “I am right.” She teased, knowing exactly how the freckled girl’s mind worked in the years they got to know each other. 

 

Almost like clockwork Ellie rolled her eyes at the darker girl, pushing herself out of the tub. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel. There was only on towel between the two of them, so she was more than expecting an teasing comment to come from the other girl. Which didn’t take long as Dina stood up shortly and walked over to her, stealing the towel. “It’s ladies first.” Her tone is unsurprisingly teasing, with that oh so familiar undertone of flirting. 

 

With that she grabbed the ends of the towel and pulled Ellie closer to her, so that they were bare chest to bare chest with towel half wrapped around Dina. The sudden changes in position, and the fact that she was no longer panicking, brought a vibrant blush to the freckled face that belonged to the slightly older girl. It took over her face like it wasn’t giving away the fact that she had very gay feelings towards her best friend. 

 

That easily brought a light giggle from her, as her hand went up to wipe away the wet hair in her face. With an satisfied smirk placed on her features she let her hand linger, thumbs brushing away the rest of the water on the taller girl’s face. Before she could even stop herself she was blurting out the three words she’s been thinking of for months, maybe even years. “I love you.”

 

Dina’s face instantly softened at the sudden declaration of her feelings towards the girl. “Not like the best friend love that you always think I mean because this time that’s not what I mean. I mean that I love you like love love you. I love the way the corner of your mouth goes up whenever you see something you like. I love how you always known how to calm me down, ever since day one. I love your stupid jokes that you think are the best thing in the world. I love the way your eyes shine whenever you see an animal when we’re patrolling. I just… I love you and I’m gonna stop talking now.” 

 

At this point, Ellie’s face is completely red and her cheeks are burning from blushing so hard. There was so much to what she just said but she couldn’t stop herself. A part of her knew that with this confession came rejection of some time because she knew that Dina was still with Jessie. So it was only a matter of seconds before she felt the pain of rejection in her heart, but she would be okay as long as she always had the other girl in her life. 

 

All throughout her entire ramble of why Ellie loved her the way she did, she couldn’t help but let her features soften more and more. Her heart hurt for the taller girl because she couldn’t say it back, not in that moment; the two of them naked with their bodies pressed closely together. “Oh Ellie…” She whispered as she cupped her cheeks and let her thumbs stroke them. “You know I can’t.” Her voice is still soft as Ellie nods, refusing to let herself cry again. 

 

With that Dina leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of lips, not daring to kiss her but not wanting to settle with just a cheek kiss. After a few minutes of silence with them just staring at eachother one of them, which one they had no idea, pulled away and started to get dressed again. 

 

Once both of them were dressed and ready to go they left the bathroom in complete silence. “Are you going to the dance?” Was the first thing said between them as they laid on Ellie’s bed, facing each other. It was like the bathroom scene didn’t just happen but at the same time the weight of her confession sat above them. 

 

A freckled nose instantly scrunched up at the sudden question about the dance. “You know I don’t like those things.” She raised a brow at Dina who had only shifted her body over as response to the question, a feigned pout of her soft lips.

 

“Will you pretty please go? For me.” Her tone was childish and teasing as she gave the other girl her best puppy dog eyes, which never failed to work on her. She had to look up at her as she did since even laying in bed she let their height difference remain instead of just leaning up. Of course that only made everything work on Ellie so much more than it normally did. 

 

Rolling her eyes she moved to lay on her other side, facing away from the pouting girl. A small smile played on her features as she felt Dina poke at her back now that she wasn’t facing her. “Night darling.” Is all she said before reaching over to turn of the light. 

 

“If you don’t come I’m going to hunt you down.” Dina decided as she cuddled up to the older girl’s back. The threat was definitely serious because she knew more than anyone that she was the only one thar Ellie would actually listen to. With that she let herself fall asleep against the back of her best friend.

 

After that night Ellie did her best to avoid Dina at all cost, even getting up earlier the next morning than she had to. She was quick to dress and start her day, asking Joel if there was anything extra she could help with during her free time. The more time she spent working the less time she had to think about her best friend and the previous night. It actually worked until she was working a nob with Jessie and he brought the girl up. 

 

“Dina broke up with me this morning. Said somethin’ ‘bout needing time to think.” With that sentence Ellie brought her attention from fixing the fence to the tall man standing next to her. She had no idea how she was supposed to be feeling in that moment, but a part of her was hopeful that she was the reason they broke up. On the other hand though, she didn’t want to be the reason her friend was hurting. 

 

“Sorry to hear that, Jessie.” She mumbled as she stopped what she was doing. Then she was pretending that she was out of nails so that she’d have a reason to actually leave the situation. The last person she wanted to talk about was Dina, especially about her love life. “Last night probably has her a little shook up.” 

 

With that she excused herself from the situation, saying something about going to go check on her. Except this time it was Dina who seemed to be avoiding the other girl because the second she saw Ellie she would turn the other direction. Honestly the whole situation was awkward and anyone who noticed the two of them would instantly know something happened.

 

Eventually she gave up trying to look for the other girl and just got some dinner. Once she had eaten she found herself going back to her room instead of enjoying the rest of the night. Maybe it was so that she didn’t run into her best friend too because now she was too tired to have an conversation.

 

The good thing about having patrol in two days meant that she got to sleep in all of the next day. That’s how the jobs ended up working, if you had to go out you got the day before off of any chores. So that meant that Ellie spent a majority of the day in her house, only getting up when she decided that she was hungry enough. 

 

By the time the end of the day had come around she hadn’t really left her place. The whole time she stayed on the couch and read old comic books that she and Joel had collected over the span of all the adventures that they had together. Which was almost relaxing because she didn’t have to think of anything else. 

 

At some point in one the stop bys he made at the house, Joel had sat himself down next to Ellie and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, kid, what’s gotcha you inside all day? You usually with Dina on your day off.” Concerned filled the voice of her father figure, the only thing not concerning to him was the fact that she wasn’t at the dance. 

 

“I told her, Joel.” She whispered softly as she looked up from her comic and over at him. He knew exactly what she referring to because he was the first one she asked about it. It was after a few years of knowing the amazing girl that she finally found the courage to ask him about it. 

 

He was never the best at comfort but hell neither was Ellie, so put the two of them together and you’ve got a horrible mess of dad trying to help daughter. Sighing softly he did the only thing that he could think of to help, pulled her into a warm and strong hug. He knew what it was like to have a broken heart, even if it had been years since his last one. 

 

“Ya know what I reckon?” He asked her, in the same old Texan accent that Ellie had come to love. Not that she would admit it but it hadn’t taken long for her to pick up the same one in the months they spent with just the two of them. Which made people think they were even more related instead of the fact that they weren’t. 

 

She sighed as she snuggled into her the chest of the man who was pretty much her father. “What do ya reckon?” Ellie asked, deciding to look up at him instead. There was a hopeful look sparkling in her eyes because Joel always knew how to give her hope again and was always right but some higher power of some sorts.

 

He gave her a reassuring smile as he thought over what he was going to say to his daughter. “I reckon she broke up with that boy of hers for a reason. ‘N’ I reckon you outa’ get down to the dance.” He told her as he let go of her, already knowing she was going to get up and changed. He knew her well enough to know that she knew when he was telling her something for her good, he also knew that Dina felt the same way about his daughter. It was obvious from almost day one that they were going to fall in love. 

 

Grumbling something that sounded like a ‘thanks’ under her breath the girl pushed herself off the couch. She knew that Joel was making some type of sense so she also hadn’t put the rest of what he said to thought yet. For once, he didn’t tease her about it and let her go to her room to get ready. Even for the mess of a gay that Ellie was didn’t really think about her outfit as she slipping into a fresh flannel and made her way to the mess hall that was hosting their monthly dances. 

 

As soon as she stepped in she spotted Dina, dancing with some guy and looking like she was genuinely enjoying herself. The whole thing had started about half an hour before, so it had had the time to really get into gear. Which meant that the bar was already up and running and serving drinks to the older people in the crowd. A majority of the people there were eighteen and up but there was also a decent amount of kids there with their parent(s). So that meant that it didn’t take long for the freckled face girl to arm herself with a glass of whiskey. 

 

It also didn’t take her long to settle at the bar, watching the happy girl swing around and switch to a new partner to dance with. At some point Jessie had walked over to her and started talking to her, but she was only paying attention partially as most of her attention was directed to the girl who had her attention. And before she was knowing it she was telling Jessie that they would totally be getting back together because seeing Dina so happy dancing with all the guys made her lose any hope that Joel was right. 

 

But then she was making her way over to the two of them and before Ellie knew it the two of them were slow dancing with each other. The light and joking way quickly turned into something else between the two of them as they danced. There was a weight over them that neither of them addressed because for the blushing girl with a freckled face that was just enough for her to not care about that weight. To not care about anything but the girl that was dancing with her. 

 

“Every guy in this room is staring at you right now.”

 

“Maybe they’re staring at you.”

 

“They’re not.”

 

“Maybe they’re jealous of you.”

 

“I’m… just a girl, not a threat.” 

 

From what she had scene from Dina she really didn’t think that she was a threat. Afterall she could choose anyone guy in the room and Ellie was just… well Ellie. Maybe it was a sense of self doubt that made her believe that she would never have the love she wanted from Dina, or maybe it was reality. But then the shorter girl is pulling away from her body and looking at her with soft eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

 

“Oh Ellie…” Her tone is soft and caring as she looked her in the eye. It was barely above a whisper and it was like the rest of the world wasn’t there right then. In that moment it was just the two of them, slowly swaying to the music in the background. “I think they should be terrified of you.”

 

Then she was being kissed. Soft lips were pressed against hers and she couldn't think. Every last bit of doubt that had encompassed her thoughts earlier left her. When Dina pulled away slightly she didn’t want her to but it didn’t long because they’re lips were connected once again. This time she fully sank into the kiss, letting her eyelids flutter shut. This was a moment that she never thought would happen was happening. 

 

When Dina pulled away for real, Ellie wasn’t sure what to think of the whole thing. Luckily for her the shorter girl spoke before she had a chance to turn into a rambling mess. “See I told you, they should be terrified.” The words left her mouth and it brought a small smile to her lips as she looked down at the girl.

 

“Because I love you more than I could love any guy in this room.”

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is [ellixwillixms](https://ellixwillixms.tumblr.com/),,,, feel free to drop by any time im always taking request and shit lol


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